Marooned
by physicsismylife
Summary: An AU story about the alternate timeline, geeky Sam and military Jack, stranded
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Samantha Carter grumbled to herself as she quickly walked in her clog clad feet past tourists in the hot Hawaiian sun. 'You are a pathetic little man, Rodney Mckay. If you don't start taking me seriously I will give you this ring back! No no no that sounds totally wrong' she mumbled as she swiped her sweater sleeve across her sweaty brow. She knew that she didn't really want to hurt Rodney's feelings by calling him pathetic. She was just sick of him treating her like a brainless blonde. Heck she worked for the Department of Aerospace Research and had several degrees in astrophysics as well. She however did like how he always called her 'sexy' and thought she was pretty 'hot'. She didn't have much experience with men, scratch that Rodney was the first man that paid attention to her and that meant something to her. He worked for the Canadian Space Agency and they had met through mutual research, they had been seeing each other for just over a year when he had proposed. She accepted, seeing as how she didn't think she would ever get married, she just didn't think it was fair that he kept stealing her ideas. He had been asked to come to a conference in Hawaii where the Canada France Hawaii Telescope was located and had invited her to come along. She had thought it might be romantic but no, he had to go and ruin it by once again taking credit for her ideas in the meeting they just attended. She hated that she didn't have the nerve to speak up and defend herself. She wished she could be brave instead she had marched off down the inactive volcano side fuming.

'Gosh its hot.' She looked around her, most of the woman scantily clad. She liked being modest and truthfully didn't really know how to dress 'sexy' which is why most of her wardrobe consisted of lumpy sweaters and long plaid skirts. Rodney claimed to like her 'librarian look'. She was walking without purpose not really knowing where she was going or what she was doing so she decided to head towards the water. She saw a sign advertising boat charters and thought that it might be a good idea to get away for awhile. As she walked down the dock she noticed all except one of the boats were gone. It was a rather dilapidated looking thing with the word Homer scrawled across the back of it. It didn't look like it would even make it out of the harbor. 'Maybe this is a bad idea' and just as she turned to walk back towards shore she heard a gruff mans voice,

"You lookin for a tour?"

A tall, graying man stepped out from the cabin area of his boat. He was quite handsome and handsome men always made Sam nervous. She stammered a few times, "uh..I..uh," her cheeks colored red she gulped and started again, "Yes, I was looking to go out for a bit."

"A bit late in the day isn't it?"

Now that he had mentioned it, it was after 5:00pm.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "Sorry I hadn't realized I'll just be going." Again she tried to turn and leave but the man grumbled out,

"I'll take ya but it will cost you extra." He bent down to pick up a life preserve not even bothering to help her into the boat.

"Here put this on." He scowled as he handed the preserve to her. She looked at it with disgust, it was dirty and like the boat didn't look like it could ever perform its proper job. Still she popped it over her head feeling her hair stick out in all different directions. She went to sit down as he had turned on the motor and began heading out to sea.

'Well at least he's a grumpy, handsome, old man. That makes it a bit easier for me to deal with. He doesn't seem to like to talk much which is just fine with me. Now I can be left to my own thoughts."

Jack took in the fresh, pacific, sea air. Man this felt good. He loved going out in his boat. He didn't really like having to bring along company but it was the only way he could keep it fuelled and feed himself. This one he had just picked up seemed like a real geek. She was wearing a sweater and stockings on the beach in Hawaii for crying out loud! He had taken pity on her since she had seemed upset about something but he didn't bother asking. He didn't feel the need to get to know his customers, he was a bitter, old man and he liked it that way. It bothered him even more that he felt attracted to her after only briefly talking to her. Those blue eyes looking at him through those thick framed glasses and man those legs! So he had taken it out on her, he didn't know why he did it but he always pushed people away.

"Uh…sorry to bother you…but do you mind telling me your name."

"Jack." He didn't bother to turn around and look at her.

"Well aren't you going to ask me my name?"

"No"

"That's pretty rude. Do you treat all your paying customers that way?"

He had to hand it to her, she came off shy and geeky but she had a mouth. He just turned and scowled at her and she flushed red again and turned to look out over the water.

There he had done it again. Jack realized the water was getting quite choppy and the sky was quickly becoming overcast. Damn! The weather hadn't predicted a storm. He was going to have to turn'er around and fast. He had been lost in his thoughts for awhile and hadn't realized they had been out for a couple of hours and couldn't even see the coastline anymore. That was pretty stupid! Damn!

"Uh…Not to bother you again but it looks like a storm is coming."

"Ya think? Get over here," he demanded as rain started to pelt down around them. She came and stood next to him in the shelter of the cabin area. Soon the waves were getting so high, it was pretty much useless to try and maneuver their way back to shore and the boat was beginning to flood as wave after wave crashed over the sides and onto the floor.

The blonde woman turned to him, her hair slicked to her face, beads of rain coursing down her face. He could barely hear her over the roar of the sea.

"Don't you have some kind of life raft or something? This boat isn't going to hold out much longer." She yelled.

"Never had a need for it before," he yelled back.

"What!?"

"I said I never needed one before."

"I heard what you said, I just can't believe with a boat like this you wouldn't have some safety precautions. I mean…"

Her rant was about to be cut off as Jack looked up to see a huge wave towering over them. He had time to grab onto the back of her life jacket and hold a breath as he was suddenly crushed, completely immersed in a matter of seconds under the weight of the ocean.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jack slowly came around to the sound of someone coughing. With the feeling of rough sand beneath one cheek he realized he was lying on his stomach on a beach. He groaned and rubbed his eyes as he sat up to see the blonde woman was already sitting up stretching her back and arms. It was obvious that the storm of the previous evening had dissipated as the sky was a brilliant blue and waves were gently lapping at their feet.

"You alright?" Jack asked.

"Yea but I can't believe how stupid..."

"Stupid?"

She bit her lower lip, squinted her eyes which he realized she was now without her glasses.

"How could you not have had a life raft? How could you have gone out so far without realizing a storm coming?" As she was speaking she stood and with a huff turned and started stalking off.

"Hey lady, where do you think you are going?"

"The name is Sam by the way and I'm getting away from you!"

"You can't just walk off in unknown territory by yourself."

"Oh...oh," she stammered, "Yes I can! I have a PhD in astrophysics." She shrilled her chest heaving. He realized she was walking across the sand in just her stockings, her shoes probably lost at sea along with her glasses. He noticed his duffel bag had washed up on shore a few yards away. He simply walked over to it and opened it up and rummaged around. Most of his clothes were quite damp but they could be hung out to dry. When he found what he was looking for he tossed a pair of his military issue boots along with some socks to her.

"First of all you might want some of these before you wonder off."

This stopped her in her tracks, obviously rethinking her plan and appreciating his gesture said, "Thank you."

"They'll be too big for you so you'll have to wear several layers of socks or stuff them but at least they'll protect your feet."

"I guess it would be better to work together, sorry about my outburst, I sometimes get carried away." She chortled scrunching her nose.

"It's alright. Most important thing is that we don't get dehydrated so I'm going to go look for a stream or source of fresh water. Do you think you'll be alright here on the beach by yourself? You can try to find as many useful things from the wreckage."

"Sure, yeah, I think I can manage that."

"Great, there's a knife in that bag amongst other things. I'll try and be back before night fall." Conveniently a bucket from the boat had washed up and was visibly near by.

With that he walked over to the bucket and than off into the dense, lush foliage.

"Sheesh," Sam mumbled to herself. "Who shoved a stick up his butt? He's so serious, I know we are stranded and all but he could lighten up a bit." She looked up at the sky and by the position of the sun judged it to be just after noon. "Smarten up Samantha, you've been stranded less than a day and you are already talking to yourself." She was feeling proud of herself, despite his grouchy demeanor, she felt she could speak her mind and stand up to the man, something she had never done before. While musing she realized she was starting to get really warm in the midday heat plus her sweater was still pretty wet so she removed it and took the knife from Jack's bag and cut her skirt so that it was above the knee. She also removed her thick stockings before putting on the socks and boots. Now feeling more prepared to begin her work, she stood and looked around her.

"Ok, water is being taken care of; I think shelter should be the next important thing." She scouted out a good location to build a shelter and than decided to scour the beach and bring everything she could find back to that spot. After several hours of hard work she stood back to admire her work. She had managed to find enough wood from the ship to build a platform so that they wouldn't be directly on the ground. Than with combinations of found items and palm branches constructed a roof and than layed some palms down for bedding. Jack's duffel proved to be a treasure trove of items. She guessed he must have been in the military at some point since some of the clothing and equipment seemed to be military. She had also found bug netting and hung it in their shelter. She hung up all the clothing in nearby trees to dry. The only thing she could find that would have belonged to his cooking gear from the boat was a pot. She figured that would come in pretty handy since they would need to boil their water. That reminded her she should probably get a fire going and await Jack's return.

Jack was making his way back to where he had left Sam on the beach following his tracks and markers he had left for himself with string. Fortunately he had found a water source. It had been absolutely beautiful, a cascading waterfall ending in a crystal clear pool. Flowers were growing up the sides of the rocky cliff behind the waterfall. Unfortunately it was very far away from their campsite, which meant they were going to have to create a means of carrying more water than this bucket so they wouldn't have to make this trip everyday. As he stepped back onto the beach away from the cover of the trees the site before him made him stop in his tracks. The woman, Sam, was returning from another part of the foliage, arms full of local fruit. She was wearing a white tank top along with her cut of skirt and his combat boots! The effect of her outfit was making him warmer than the tropical sun.

Her face coloured under his intense scrutiny and she shyly asked,

"What?"

"Uh, it's uh, I'm just impressed with the work you've accomplished." He said, taking in the humble shelter she had constructed and the fire. He also noticed his clothing drying in the trees. Honestly he was impressed; he had expected to return to find her having simply collected some of their things.

"You physicists are taught well."

"Well I have some extra experience." She giggled to herself, snorting slightly.

"My dad is a general in the U.S. Air Force; I camped a lot as a kid."

"Well everything looks great." Jack gave her a slight smile.

Day was rapidly fading into evening as they sat around the fire, the water boiling as they ate their fruit. They talked quietly, Jack telling her about the water source he had found and suggested that the plan for the next day be to climb to the peak of a cliff that was near by so that they could take a good look at the island they were on, maybe see any traces of civilization. Sam agreed. With that they decided to get into the makeshift bed in order to get as much rest as possible for the next day.

Sam, in an attempt to get to know the man she was sharing such close quarters with a little better said aloud.

"So you are in the military?"

"Was in the military and no I don't like to talk about it."

"Sorry I just saw your things and anyways…how'd you end up living in Hawaii?"

"It's warm, I love my boat."

It was like pulling teeth to get the man to talk, Sam thought to herself.

"You have any family?"

"I don't talk about that either. You?"

"Well my mother died when I was young and my dad a few years ago. I have a brother but we aren't close. I guess my only real family is Rodney."

"Who's that?"

"My fiancé"

"Oh"

With that Jack rolled from his back to his side facing away from Sam. Sam took that to be the end of their conversation and she quickly faded off thinking the next day wasn't going to be enjoyable. Jack however didn't fall asleep right away. 'Figures, I should have known a good looking woman like that would be taken. Who were you kidding Jack, even if she was single she wouldn't be interested in an old lowlife like you.'


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jack woke to warmth across his back. Sam was sleeping with her back pressed to him obviously, subconsciously trying to gather warmth in her sleep. He could hear the sound of the ocean waves lapping against the shore and the netting in their hut was gently blowing in the warm breeze. It felt like a dream; in paradise with a beautiful woman. Than he realized that was his reality except for the beautiful woman had someone else. With a sigh and a quick stretch he left the sleeping woman to go and gather some breakfast.

Jack was pouring some of their boiled water into his canteen when Sam crawled out of their shelter with a yawn. She pulled on his boots before making her way to the fire.

He handed her a fruit and said,

"Sleep well?"

"Surprisingly yes"

"Well we have a long day ahead of us so we should set out as soon as possible."

As Jack was attaching his knife to his belt he watched as Sam went and grabbed one of his cotton, button up shirts. She put it on over her tank top, rolled up the sleeves and tied the bottom of the shirt around her waist. Man was she hot!

"You don't mind do you? I don't want to burn."

"guh..." Jack cleared his throat, "no, no not at all."

She smiled and continued pulling the rest of the clothing out of the trees, folding them before placing them in the shelter.

He hung his binoculars around his neck and handed the canteen to Sam to wear.

"Alright let's head out."

Their progress was slow going as they had to bushwhack through the denser parts of the jungle-like flora. However he was impressed with her ability to keep up. She was really fit.

"So what exactly made you decide to become an astrophysicist?"

"Well I've always loved space since I was a little kid so it was somewhat of an obvious choice."

"You want to be an astronaut?"

"Yeah…it's somewhat of a far off dream for me."

"Why so far off? You said PhD in astrophysics right? Seems a lot closer than most."

"Well, my boyfriend is really smart too and we sometimes collaborate and he usually takes the credit so…"

"What! Why?" 'Bastard' Jack thought to himself.

"I don't mind really, he's great so…" Sam just shrugged sheepishly.

'Real great,' Jack thought, 'seems like a loser to me.'

They walked the rest of the way in silence, partly because it seemed Jack was in one of his moods again and partly because the hill had gotten quite steep and they had to really exert themselves.

Reaching the peak they found disappointing results. The island wasn't very big so from what Jack could tell there wasn't any civilization here and they were surrounded by nothing but water as far as the eye can see. Even with his binoculars he couldn't spot anything in the distance.

"Well, we should stay positive; we could always create an SOS signal. I'm sure they know we are missing by now, someone will come looking."

Jack just grumbled and turned to head back down.

Sam just rolled her eyes and followed.

Why was he so grumpy all the time? Sam didn't think she was doing anything to provoke his mood but she didn't have much experience with men so she wasn't sure.

As soon as they made it back to camp, Jack picked up the bucket and pot and said,

"Let's go get some more water."

"Do you mind if I bring along the soap that you had in your bag, to freshen up a bit?"

"Whatever."

As she followed behind him she watched as he picked up varying sizes of sticks along the way.

"Whatcha doin?"

"Well while you freshen up I thought I'd work on making a fish trap so we could change up our diet a little."

"Oh! Great idea!"

Sam could hear the sound of running water as they approached the waterfall but nothing prepared her for the sight before her.

"Oh my goodness! It's absolutely stunning, truly a piece of paradise."

Jack couldn't help but smile at her reaction; he knew she would really like it. Sam saw his smile and than had to look away quickly incase he caught her looking but his smile had lit up his whole face and he looked even more incredibly gorgeous.

"Well I'll just go find somewhere to sit to work on this to let you have some privacy."

Sam turned slightly red and mumbled a "thanks" as he walked away.

Sam double checked a few times that he was nowhere in sight before she began to remove her clothes.

The cool water running over her skin felt like heaven. She had felt pretty sticky after their hike. She swam to the middle of the little pool and realized she could stand with the water coming to her neck. She ducked her head under the falls to get her hair wet.

She sighed and said to herself, "I could get used to this."

Meanwhile Jack had found a fallen tree log to sit on and had pulled the twine from his pocket to work on the fish trap. He worked for a good half hour and was just putting the finishing touches when he heard her scream. He dropped the trap and pulled out his knife as he ran to the pool. When he made it to the waterfall he saw Sam standing completely nude not looking to be in any type of harm. She screamed again ducking down into the water. He quickly turned away but not before the image of her naked body was permanently etched to his brain; her creamy, freckled skin, full, firm breasts, the curve of her hip.

"Sorry, I heard you scream."

With a shaking voice, Sam stammered, "I'm sorry, I thought I saw a snake in the water but it was just a stick."

"Well I'm going to go get the stuff I left, come meet me when you are done." Jack couldn't stay without risking her seeing how turned on he was. 'No need for her to think she's stuck on an island with a pervert.'

Again Sam waited until she was sure he was out of sight before wading out of the water.

"Oh my god, oh my god." Sam was really embarrassed, no one except Rodney had ever seen her naked. Except she was surprised that she kind of liked it, she saw Jack had become aroused and it had left her all tingly. She had never felt like that before. "Snap out of it Sam, get a grip." She pulled on her clothing over her damp skin and went looking for Jack. When she caught up with him she couldn't look him directly in the eye. They walked in silence and as they made it too their beach it started to pour.

They ran to their shelter and crawled in.

"Ohhh" Sam exclaimed looking down at herself.

Jack couldn't help it, she looked like a drowned rat and so he smirked.

Sam caught his look and smacked him in the arm.

"It's not funny!" she said indignant.

This caused Jack to burst out into laughter, Sam soon joining in. The tension caused by the earlier incident seems to fade as Jack pulled out one of his large t-shirts from the pile of clothes.

"Here, I'll face the wall while you change; it's not good to stay wet."

The two faced their respective walls and changed into dry clothing. They left their wet clothing by the entrance and crawled onto their bedding.

"May as well get some sleep, there isn't much we can do in the rain."

Sam simply nodded her head and pulled her sweater over herself.

"If you don't mind we could share body heat."

"Ok…sure we can," Sam said, trying not to sound nervous.

Jack spooned up behind her and wrapped an arm and a leg over her. Sam felt really good, she liked having his arms around her and it wasn't long before she fell asleep to the pitter patter of rain falling on their roof.

The next morning, Sam could feel the sun trickling through the opening of the shelter, warming her face. She felt Jack's head very close to hers and heard him breathe in as if smelling her hair. Then she felt another source of warmth.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed, trying to pull away from him. He was hard and pressed up against her!

Jack grumbled and rubbed the sand out if eyes as he slowly awoke.

"What's going on?" His eyes looked at her questioningly.

"I…I…can't believe you! I'm engaged to someone else!"

She grabbed a pair of shorts and pulled them on before running out.

Jack looked down at himself, "Oh fuck."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 2

Jack looked up into the midmorning sky thinking that it had now been a few hours since Sam had run off. When he had exited the shelter Sam had already disappeared. He had decided to let her go and calm down which is why he was currently standing in the ocean. He had spent awhile creating an SOS on the beach before distracting himself by setting up his fish trap. 'Screw it' he thought. He was going to go find her. He didn't feel comfortable with her wandering alone. He grabbed his canteen and knife and headed off into the trees.

Sam had been walking mindlessly for a few hours and was starting to feel the heat. She had rolled up the sleeves on the T-shirt she had slept in to try and cool off without realizing her fair skin would be very vulnerable to the blazing sun. "Great Sam, just great," she muttered to herself as she looked down at her crimson arms. Not only was she burnt but she was very thirsty. She had left in such a hurry that she hadn't brought water with her and than because she was feeling embarrassed and confused she had wandered without paying attention. She had been lost in thought thinking about how badly she had reacted. She wasn't really upset at him it was more that she was upset with herself. She had liked the fact that she turned Jack on and she knew that was wrong. She also knew it was so wrong that she found Jack so attractive. Now he probably thought she was this inexperienced nerd, wait who was she kidding, she was! Now she was an idiot too getting lost and probably winding up with heat stroke. In a moment of dizziness, she didn't have time to react as her foot got snagged in a vine except to scream as she began to tumble down a steep hill.

Jack heard Sam yell and took off at top speed in the direction it had come from.

"Sam, Sam! Where are you?"

He arrived just in time to see Sam come to a tumbling stop in a heap at the base of a small hill. He ran to her side and turned her over,

"Are you alright?"

She was breathing pretty heavy but answered in a shaky voice, "Yeah I think so, I might have sprained my ankle when I tripped."

"Yeah you have a few cuts here and there too, here let me help you up." As he grabbed Sam's arm to help her up she yelped, "Ow!"

Jack lifted up her sleeve, "Oh Sam, this looks painful."

She just grimaced and said, "I'll be alright."

They stood and began the trek back to the beach, Sam hobbling somewhat. He had to admit he was impressed with her, not only was she brilliant but she was tough too. She had said her dad was in the military, he had to wonder why she hadn't followed in his footsteps. She would have made an excellent officer; she just had to work on her confidence.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Sam said,

"I think I hear something."

He held out an arm to stop her also bringing a finger to his lips to silence her. Then a rustling in the bush to their left caught his attention.

"Over there!" she whispered rather loudly.

He gestured more fervently with his index finger to his lips that he meant silence. He drew his knife. Than they stood and watched as a hog like animal stepped out. If it's menacing tusks weren't enough, the look in it's eyes and it's stance were enough of an indication that it was going to charge and it could do some damage for it's size. Jack grabbed Sam's arm and yelled, "RUN!"

They ran in the only direction they could until they hit a rocky edge where the only escape was the ocean that waited below.

"Jump!" Jack bellowed.

"What?!" Sam shrieked.

There was no time for reassurances just action. He held her hand as he pulled her over the cliff edge. She screamed for the length of the entire fall until it was muted by the waves that engulfed them as they hit the water.

They swam the small distance to shore and stopped once they hit sand. Sam laid spluttering and coughing with her legs below the knee still in the water. Jack lay on his back catching his breath and than rolled to his side to check on her. She wasn't coughing any more and Jack couldn't take his eyes off her heaving chest that was covered by a very wet T-shirt. His eyes slowly traveled up her body to her face to find she was already staring at his. He looked into her sparkling eyes that were the color of the ocean around them. Her hair was slicked back and little beads of water were running down her cheeks and dropping from her chin. He just couldn't help himself, she was so beautiful he just bent his head down and took her lips in his. He started out slow, just gently pressing his lips as if asking permission. To his surprise and relief she responded and before he knew it they were once more out of breath. Again looking into her eyes, no words were needed as he picked her up and carried her along the beach to their shelter. Once inside he placed her on the bedding and slowly stripped his soaked T-shirt, shorts and boots from her before removing his own clothing. She never took her eyes from him as he lay down beside her propping his head up with his arm. He looked at her face again to see her eyes were glazed over with want laced with a bit of apprehension.

"Hey," he whispered, "Is this ok? Do you want this?"

She bit her lower lip and nodded slowly.

He smiled his gorgeous smile and said, "You don't look so sure."

"It's just that I've never…"

"You've never had sex?" he asked incredulous. "You and Rodney never…"

Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, we've done some things but never all the way. I told him I wanted to wait until we were married."

"Oh Sam, if it's that important to you, we won't do this."

"No, no, it never felt right with him, I think I subconsciously knew that and that was my excuse, this feels right, you feel right.

Jack needed no other explanations. He took her face in his hands and once more brought his lips to hers.

Jack had dozed off after their lovemaking. Sam however could only lay in the sweaty, blissful afterglow, wrapped in Jack's arms her head resting on his chest. That was amazing! Sam had no idea it would feel so good. She was also surprised at the immense feelings she was developing for this man. It must be late afternoon, early evening by now, she should probably go look for something to eat but she was feeling pretty exhausted from the days events. The last being quite strenuous but she just couldn't bring herself to move. She loved the sounds of the waves striking the beach, the tropical birds singing around their hut and of course just laying with Jack. She chuckled to herself thinking about how Jack was her own personal Fabio in a cheesy, trapped in paradise, romance novel. She finally decided she was probably going to make herself quite sick if she didn't get some water soon. Before she could act she heard a familiar sound, she began nudging Jack awake.

"Hey, hey, do you hear that? It sounds like a…"

"Airplane engine" Jack finished for her as he opened his eyes and bolted out. Sam quickly followed. They stood on the beach waving their arms as they watched it fly directly over them. To their surprise it didn't circle back round. "What the heck!" Jack yelled. "They had to have seen my SOS, they were flying so low, it was obvious they are searching for something!"

He looked to Sam to see her reaction, to see if she had any ideas on the strange occurrence but Sam was no longer standing. She had fainted and now lay on the sandy beach.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 2

Sam slowly opened her eyes to see the starry expanse of a night time sky above her and could hear the sound of a crackling fire nearby. She could feel that her sweater was rolled up pillowing her head and she had wet cloths draped over her arms and legs.

"Hey you're finally awake."

"What happened?" she croaked.

"Here first drink this." He placed the canteen to her lips and she drank heavily.

"You must have fainted from being severely dehydrated, not to mention you were burnt, out in the sun all day. I'm sorry I should have realized and not pushed you."

"No, it was great, I wouldn't have changed a thing," she smiled up at him.

He just smirked in reply.

He handed her now dry skirt and tank top to her. You felt a bit feverish so I was trying to keep you cool, hence the cold compresses. I also looked at your ankle. It's a bit swollen but we can wrap it for tomorrow."

"Thanks" she said as she quickly dressed.

"Here eat some fruit. Hopefully there will be fish for tomorrow."

As she munched she remembered about the plane flying by.

"Hey, what happened to the rescue? They didn't see us?"

"I know its nuts eh? You were naked and they didn't stop! How is that possible?!"

This comment earned him a smack to the arm, "As I recall mister, you were also naked as the day you were born!" He chuckled along with her muffled, snorted laugh.

As they calmed and she brought her hands down from her mouth he said,

"In all seriousness though, I don't understand what happened. That plane should have seen us."

"I know I don't understand it either. I think it might have to remain a mystery for tonight, I'm wiped."

"Same here," Jack said, as he lay down beside her and pulled her head onto his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

"Can you imagine though?"

"Imagine what?"

"The site we would have made if they HAD seen us." She started giggling again.

"Hey, no giggling!" he said as he started tickling her.

As they calmed down they both looked up into the sky. He placed a kiss to the top of her forehead as she began talking about how beautiful the sky was. He could definitely tell she had a passion for her job as she began enthusiastically telling him about various constellations they could see and the composition of stars.

He was tired so he just "Umhmmed" at the appropriate times, content to just listen to her voice.

The final thing he heard her say was, "Jack, do you ever think we were meant for something more, that we should be doing something different with our lives."

He didn't respond as he had already drifted off to sleep with his final thought being what more could he live for than to have this beautiful, smart woman in his arms.

The sun was just beginning its daily ascent as Jack stretched his arms out straight and inhaled a deep breath before exhaling it with an "ahhh." He could feel Sam's hair tickling his chin as her head began to move as she awoke. He looked down at her yawning face and smiled.

"Morning gorgeous."

Sam blushed and murmured, "Back at yeah."

They rose together and walked to their dwindling fire.

"I'll get some wood if you get the fruit?"

"Sure thing," Sam said with a smile.

As they sat eating, Jack bit into an over ripe piece of fruit and juice dribbled down his chin. Jack was about to wipe it away with the back of his hand when Sam leaned over and said, "Allow me." With that she licked up the liquid and ended with her lips on his. Sam suddenly pulled away in shock at herself. Jack just smiled but was somewhat shocked too, he hadn't expected that from her but he liked it.

Sam stuttered, "Was… that ok? I mean…"

"Sam," Jack cut her off, "It was more than ok." He than kissed her more fully and longer and it was about to get carried away when this time Jack pulled away.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, if we ever want to get off this island we better keep working."

"You're right."

"I say we go get some water first, we only have enough to fill one canteen. Than maybe we should hike back up to a high point and create another signal. I don't want to risk another plane missing us."

They decided to use a leg of Sam's stocking to wrap her ankle before setting out.

As they walked Jack decided to confide in Sam a little about his life. "I just wanted to say that I didn't mean to be such a grouch earlier. During my time in the service I saw some pretty horrendous things that changed me. My wife couldn't deal and left me. I guess I've just been alone so long I started believing I'm the gruff, worn soldier that I portrayed."

"Well I kind of like the gruff, tough man," Sam said shyly, "makes you sort of mysterious."

Jack just chuckled as Sam pondered how this man could make her feel so free. She felt she could do and say anything to him hence her previous action at breakfast. Than as they came out into the clearing around the waterfall she had another idea, something she would never have considered her pre-Jack self doing with anyone in a million years.

She walked to the edge of the pool of water and turned to face Jack. She pulled off her boots and than proceeded to pull her tank top over her head.

Jack just stared at her, jaw dropping, "Whatcha doin?"

"I'm rather warm," she said coyly, "I think I need to cool off, care to join me?"

"Oh you better be serious." Jack said as he began tearing his clothes at a rapid speed. Sam had already disposed of all her clothing. She couldn't help but shudder at the way Jack began to march towards her with a feral look in his eye. She shrieked and turned to run into the water but Jack had already reached her and they tumbled into the water together. Both of their heads emerged in the center of the pool, both laughing. Jack wrapped his arms around her one hand running up and down her back the other lacing through her hair. Sam had wrapped her legs around his hips as they began a passionate exploration of the others mouth, water swirling around them. Jack slowly started backing her towards the waterfall. Sam let out a laughing screech as the water struck her head, the pressure of the pelting water only lasting seconds before they were on the other side. Jack pushed her up against the rock wall, the sound of the roaring waterfall drowning out their moans of want and need. Jack released her lips so he could watch her expression of pure pleasure as he entered her. They started with a slow, steady rhythm. As they worked towards completion they're motions becoming more sporadic, Sam let her hands run along the rock wall behind her in order to gain some leverage. One hand snaked itself into the flowering vines and the fingers of her other hand found a small crack in the wall. They were so consumed in their lovemaking to notice that the crack in the wall wasn't a crack at all but part of a symbol that had been carved into the stone. It was an inverted V with a small circle above it. As her hand had passed over the symbol a doorway to a cave had opened behind the waterfall. The lover's were also oblivious to this too.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 2

He was breathing heavily into the crook of her neck which was moist partially from the mist of the waterfall and more than likely sweat. That had been amazing! Sex under a waterfall for crying out loud! He ran his hands through her damp hair and placed a quick kiss to her lips as she too was calming down. She just looked up at him with her gorgeous blues with a shy smile. His hand plucked a flower from the vine near at hand and tucked it behind her ear.

"You're beautiful."

At this she turned her eyes from him thinking Rodney never called her that. He usually said she was 'hot' or a 'babe' more like she was an object than the beautiful woman Jack made her feel like. She looked back at him with a huge smile and said,

"Thanks." Pulling away from Jack and trying to edge her way back to the shore she said,

"Maybe we should get out before we turn into prunes."

She was all of a sudden feeling very vulnerable by the magnitude in which her feelings for Jack were growing.

Jack stood standing for a moment as Sam stood away, hoping he hadn't done anything wrong when he glanced over and saw the huge hole in the rock wall.

"SAM! Come look at this!"

"What?" she asked questioningly.

"I don't think that was there before was it?" He pointed as she came back up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"No it was definitely not. Wanna check it out?"

"You betcha!"

The opening wasn't that far from the ground, about shoulder level and he was able to pull himself up. "Wow, Sam you've got to see this."

Sam was standing below the entrance, still waist deep in water and replied,

"Uhh, Jack you might want to see this too."

She was staring at an obscure symbol carved into the wall. Come to think of it this was the handhold she had grasped during their previous session.

"Jack, I think this is some sort of trigger, why the wall opened up."

Jack had lain down on his stomach with his head hanging over the edge so he could look down at what Sam was looking at.

"If you think that's amazing wait until you see inside." With that he reached down and helped to pull her up into the cave.

"Holy Hannah!" The entire cave wall was etched with symbols resembling the same style as the one on the outside of the cave.

"Jack, I'm no archaeologist but these don't seem like any of the ancient languages found here on earth. Not Egyptian, Greek, you get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah but than who do you think wrote this?"

"I don't know…maybe someone else was stranded here and got bored." She chuckled.

"Good thing I'm stranded here with a good looking woman like you. Way better than making up my own language." He said as he pulled her to him with his arm so that they were waist to waist, looking at the glyphs before them.

"Jack be serious, I wish we had paper or something so that I could maybe try and translate it. Do you think we could stay for awhile and study it?" She said this with a shiver. It was quite cool in the cave compared to the tropical climate that lay beyond the waterfall.

"Tell you what," he said as he ran his hands up and down her arms to try and warm her, "Let's head back to camp, see if we caught any dinner, grab a blanket and your sweater and come and camp here for the evening. That way you can start first thing in the morning." He figured they probably should stay on the beach incase another plane flew over but Sam was really excited about this and honestly he could care less if he was stranded another day with her.

She beamed up at him and said, "It sounds perfect."

After they had made it back to the beach, Sam went to the shelter to pack up Jack's bag, while he went and checked his trap.

"Sammie, we're having fish tonight!"

"Great, I was getting tired of just fruit."

An hour later they had set up camp by the waterfall. Jack had a blazing fire going, the smell of fish sizzling making Sam's stomach rumble.

They both wolfed down the fish quickly as they were both starving, before deciding to go to bed early in order to get up early. They had constructed a much simpler, smaller shelter for the evening. They crawled in and curled up together listening to the sound of the running water, swirling around in the water beside them. It was a soothing hum that soon had the wiped companions sound asleep in minutes.

Sam woke early the next morning, and quietly pulled her clothes on trying not to disturb Jack. She smiled to herself as she watched him sleep he was completely sprawled out, limbs in every direction. 'I wonder if he's a bed hog,' she thought to herself before thinking she hoped they got home so she could find out. She grabbed some fruit from the bag and munched the few steps to the pond. She bent down and cupped some water in her hands drinking deeply before splashing some on her face. Then she made her way to where the waters edge met the rock wall that led in behind the waterfall. She decided if she took her boots off and hung them around her neck she could edge along the wall without getting her clothing too wet.

She had been sitting in the cave, staring at the walls for about half an hour when Jack finally showed up. He stood and watched her for a few moments. Amazed at how absorbed she could get in her task. She hadn't even heard him enter the cave. He wondered if she always worked so hard on projects for work. He figured it was probably a yes and found that her intensity was very sexy to him.

He snuck up behind her as she was mumbling to herself, running her fingers over the etchings and wrapped his arms around her. She jumped as he placed a kiss to her neck.

"Morning beautiful, why didn't you wake me?" Sam turned in his arms and gave him a peck on the lips and said, "You looked so peaceful and I didn't think you'd find this very interesting."

He smiled at that and said, "You're pretty much right, it's not that I don't find it interesting I just don't have the patience for this type of thing."

Sam chuckled, she could only imagine.

"Do you mind if I go hiking for a bit, scout out more of the area, while you stay here? I think you'll be safe with the cover of the waterfall."

"Sure, sounds like a good idea."

Jack had hiked back up to the highest peak again to look around before trying out a new path on the island. He eventually went back to their camp to grab some more fish before heading back to Sam. He had been gone three or four hours and figured she might have figured something out by now. Plus he was hot and sweaty and couldn't wait to get under that waterfall again, especially if Sam was going to be there.

Sam heard Jack enter their new campsite; she had been anxiously awaiting his return to show him what she had figured out.

"Jack come up here, please."

Jack made his way into the cave and stood next to Sam, "So whatcha got for me?"

"Well I'm afraid languages were never my strong suit. So I didn't make much advancement on what the walls say. However there is this pictograph. Looks familiar right?"

Jack stared at the picture and realization dawned on him, "Yeah, it looks kind of like a map of this island. There's the mountain top, and the waterfall. Except what are those paths that lead from the waterfall, I don't recognize any of it. That's not what the lay of the land looks like."

"Me neither. I'm starving though, how about we eat and than look around the outside of the cave."

"Sure"

Before they turned to leave, Jack noticed one of the symbols on the map was raised and said, "Hey what's this?" as he reached his hand out and touched it.

Before either of them had time to move, the floor opened up below them and they began to slide down a rocky chute. Jack had just enough time to grab a hold of Sam's hand, she screaming as they slid, twisting and turning down narrow, dark passages before plunging into a water filled chamber. They both treaded water for a moment catching their breaths looking around them.

"Jack," Sam said with a worried plea, "Please tell me you see another way out."

Jack just looked at her and swallowed and than looked back up to the hole in the ceiling from which they had fallen. They were surrounded by four walls of solid rock and nothing else.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 2

They had been silently treading water for a few minutes, the sound of their breathing echoing off of the cavern walls. Jack was just watching Sam's face as she was deep in thought. Then he realized another sound other than their breathing in the room. It was the sound of water trickling down one of the chamber walls. By the look on Sam's face he could tell that she could hear it too. He followed her line of sight to a tiny opening in the wall. There was a tiny streak of water running steadily down the rock wall. He looked back at Sam to see what she thought, and to his surprise she no longer bore a pensive look but one of determination and excitement. He had to wonder what her idea was since there was no way either of them could fit through that hole! He was about to open his mouth and state just this when she exclaimed,

"Jack! I think I know how we can get out!"

"Uh, Sam I know I'm a pretty trim guy and all but there is just no way…"

"Oh! No! I don't mean we get out through that hole, look what is coming out of it."

"More water?" Jack said with an incredulous look, "Don't you think we are swimming in enough of it?"

"That's just it Jack." Sam said with so much enthusiasm her face was glowing. Jack still dumbfounded said, "I'm sorry Sam I'm still not following."

"Jack," Sam rolled her eyes, "water is coming in but the water level is staying the same."

Jack still looked at her questioningly so she continued, "So the water has to be going somewhere, which means."

The answer finally dawned on Jack and he finished her sentence, "Which means there is another way."

"Exactly!"

With that Jack took a deep breath and dove under the water. Sam waited a few moments before he resurfaced, spluttering a bit and gasping. After he caught his breath he pointed and said, "It's over there," he was pointing to the opposite wall from the other small opening, "It's blocked up with rocks and boulders, I'm going to need your help, but I think it might be a way out."

Sam swam to his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed deeply, both feeling somewhat relieved. "Whoa, Sam save it for when we get out, we're gonna need all the air we can get." He chuckled. He squeezed her hand and said, "Let's do this."

They swam to the wall and each took a breath before diving downwards. Sam saw the opening Jack was talking about and they both began pulling at the rocks that blocked their way. When they finally pulled a rather large one out it caused such a larger amount of water to start flowing that the current quickly began to remove the other stones and before either knew it they were being pulled along as well. They were a mix of limbs flailing along with the debris, Jack caught a glimpse of Sam's puffed cheeks as she was still holding on to her breath of air.

The water slide finally ended with them flying out of an opening, yet again above a body of water, however this time it wasn't a small water filled chamber but a large cavern where the water leveled of and there was room to walk around. They both swam to the shore coughing and panting.

"Wow," Jack exclaimed "this never ends." As he looked around the room, he spotted there was another opening they could walk through and if he wasn't mistaken it looked like daylight was streaming in too.

"Come on," he said as he helped Sam to her feet. She was looking a little waterlogged,

"You look like a drowned rat."

She just glowered at him and gave him a swat, "Hey! I must say though you look like a very cute drowned rat."

He just smirked as he saw the trace of a smile developing. "That looks like daylight to me, so what do you say we get out of here.

"You read my mind."

So they walked hand in hand towards the adjoining room, what they saw there made them stop dead in their tracks.

Sam let go of Jack's hand and brought them to cover her mouth, "Oh my Goodness, it can't be."

Jack rubbed his eyes to try and clear them, he wasn't seeing properly, but as he opened his eyes again the image before him did not change.

Sam said in a shocked voice, "It looks like a,"

Jack finished her sentence once again, "spaceship"

Well he wasn't sure exactly what it looked like but it was definitely not something he had ever seen on Earth before. It looked like a lopsided cylinder but made from a foreign metal, with unfamiliar, geometric markings. Sam had already walked over to it and was about to touch it.

"Ah ah, Sam, don't touch it! Look what just happened after I touched something."

"I know but, I've never seen this material before, I want to feel it, figure out what it is. Besides how much worse could it get?"

"You have a point." She smiled at him and slowly reached her hand out; Jack closed his eyes in apprehension just as her fingers delicately traced the smooth surface. When Jack felt nothing happen he opened his eyes again. Sam was now tracing a crack that ran along the back of it, or well what he assumed to be the back.

"I think this is the door, I wonder how it opens."

Jack now curious also reached out his hand to touch the vessel. As if by magic, as he was wondering the same thing, the door slowly opened.

Sam stared astonished, "How did you do that."

"I don't know, I was just thinking about how to get the door open and it opened."

"Hmm, well let's look inside."

Once inside the craft it became more apparent that it was a ship of some sort. There was an open cargo area and than towards the front there was seating and what looked like control panels in front of a large window.

"This is amazing Jack, can you believe what we have discovered? This is a dream come true."

To Jack, watching Sam light up at the thought of finding alien technology was a dream come true to him, she looked beautiful. She was literally bouncing off the floor with excitement. Thoughts of getting out of the cave and dry clothes forgotten, Sam was studying the control panels.

"I wish I knew how to turn it on." Jack content to just watch and think about what a turn on she was, leaned back against the opposite control panel. As his backside made contact, several lights blinked on and a display on the viewing screen lit up.

"Holy Hannah! Jack you have the magic touch or something. This ship seems to react to your touch!" Jack just continued to stare at her thinking about how he would like to react to her touch. Sam realizing his intense stare began to blush and stared down at her feet.

"What? What are you looking at?"

"You"

"I can see that but why?"

"Because you are just so…hot."

Sam's blue eyes met his brown and they gravitated towards each other and in moments were locked in a heated embrace. As she crushed her lips to his, he began to fumble with their wet clothing. It didn't take long before their panting breaths, mingled with Jack's deep groans, were echoing off the ships walls. Jack's member was wonderfully sheathed in Sam's welcoming womb as they both worked towards completion. Each with similar thoughts in mind, Sam thinking, 'I can't believe I'm doing it in an alien spaceship,' and Jack's, 'I can't believe I'm doing it with such a gorgeous woman.'

After they had dozed off in a post coital bliss for a few hours, the couple had awoken on the metal grating. Surprisingly neither was cold or uncomfortable as if the ship were being heated.

Jack was just coming back into the ship as Sam was once again staring at the control panels.

"Well, good new is the lighting in the cave is definitely daylight. There is a hole above the ship and conveniently a rope ladder is still hanging."

"That is good news. Since you seem to know how to work this thing why don't you come over here and help me with this."

"Sam, I already told you I don't know how it happened; I think its just coincidence."

"Well to me this looks like a compartment opening, I was thinking maybe there are still supplies in it or something to help us figure out what this is. I can't seem to get it to open so will you humor me."

So Jack reached out and touched the spot Sam had been handling and with that the drawer opened.

"Cool," Jack simply stated. Sam with a somewhat jealous look peeked into the compartment. Now this looked more familiar.

"It looks like a video camera," Jack said, "it looks like there is also a note."

Sam reached in and pulled the items out. Handing Jack the camera she opened the note and began to read.

"It's dead," Jack stated.

"Yeah I know."

"How do you know?"

Jack peered over her shoulder to look at the note and figured out why she looked so shocked. It was in English.

"Ok so are alien friend knows English and somehow got his hands on a video camera."

"Jack I don't think it was an alien."

"What do you mean? Jack's eyebrows rising in question.

"It's me. This is my handwriting."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 2

"Are you sure it just doesn't look like your handwriting? I mean it's not possible. Unless you are telling me you've visited this delightful little island before," Jack said somewhat sarcastically.

"It's not just the writing, it's the way it's written, the letter is an explanation on how to use some of the ship's power to recharge the battery, the way the person explains the method uses exactly the same line of thinking I would use if I were explaining it. Oh and not to mention it's signed, Major Samantha Carter."

"Since when were you in the military?"

"I'm not."

"So what then? Twin sister?"

"Jack I honestly have no idea, I think the only way we are going to get some answers is if we follow the instructions and watch the video."

"Alright, how long do you think it will take?"

"Maybe an hour, I'm not really sure."

"Ok while you are doing that I'm going to head back to camp and grab our stuff because I think its safe to say we aren't going to be leaving this thing alone."

Sam shook her head fervently that this was indeed the case.

"I'll probably be gone a while because I think those tunnels took us a long way. We are probably in the heart of the island, very far from shore and there probably won't be many trails."

Sam just nodded already trying to pry a panel off the ceiling. So Jack left her to it with a smile on his face. He exited the ship and stood to look around the area once again. The opening in the cave ceiling was quite large; obviously that was how the ship came to land inside of it. There was a thick, lush growth of long grasses and vines' hanging over the edges of the opening and quite a bit of daylight was flooding in.

Jack walked over to the rope ladder and gave it a tug. Deciding it still seemed pretty sturdy he began the ascent up.

It had only taken Sam about half an hour to pull out one of the ceiling panels and start pulling out some of the wires as per the instructions from the note. Then she sat and let the battery charge. When she finally saw the full bar of power on the camera screen she could barely contain her excitement. She knew that she should probably wait for Jack to watch it together but this was not the case when Jack returned breathlessly an hour later. Jack watched as she hit the pause button to tell her his news.

"Sam I decided to go for a swim in the ocean while I was back at camp and once I hit a certain point the island vanished. It's invisible Sam!"

"Actually Jack the correct term is cloaked."

Jack stared dumbfounded, "Huh?"

"Sorry Jack but I couldn't wait to begin watching the video, don't worry I only watched a bit of it, but it's so amazing."

Jack could only stare and listen in bewilderment as she talked very rapidly in excitement.

"It is me on the video camera, or at least another version of me, from another timeline, I know that sounds confusing but I'll explain. I only watched the bit about were she explains about all the controls on the ship and that the ship is made by a race they call the ancients and apparently you have their gene. That's why it seems to react to you. They managed to extend the ships cloak to the entire island, that's why it vanishes!"

"Wow Sam, slow down. What is this about timelines, ancients, a gene; you are going way to fast."

"Sorry, it's just so thrilling."

"Wait a second, how does this other you know about me?"

"You are on the video too. We must have known each other in the alternate timeline."

"Why are there alternate timelines to begin with?"

"I'm not sure I think they explain that next on the video."

So the two curled up together and leaned up against one of the ship walls and Sam pressed play. They watched for hours completely immersed. They learned from 'themselves' that they were members of a team called SG1, that they had gone back to ancient Egypt to retrieve a device. They told about how they created another video explaining what they had done something about a Stargate and left it with their other teammates, Daniel and Teal'c to ensure it was buried in the right place. After an uprising they had been caught and scheduled for execution. They had managed to escape and took the ship called a jumper, to this secluded island. It had been an emergency landing as they had taken a few hits during their exit. They had hidden the jumper and made the ancient hieroglyphs to ensure only the right people would be able to find the ship. After most of the technical stuff had been explained it seems that the other Sam had used the video as a sort of diary. She would come on and just talk about new things that Sam and Jack had found, her experiences with Jack, any repairs she made to the ship in hopes that they could eventually leave, etc.

Finally Jack hit the stop button,

"Well I don't know about you but I need a stretch. Let's go look for their shelter that they talked about."

Sam reluctantly put the camera down, she could have watched for hours more.

Once out of the cave they began walking in the direction given to them by their alternates.

"So Sam, how are you doing with all this?"

"I don't know it's just so hard to take it all in. It's hard hearing that this isn't who I'm supposed to be. I don't know whether to be happy or sad about it."

"I know what you mean."

"At least we still found each other in this timeline."

Jack reached out his hand to her and held on as they walked.

"Yeah thank god for that."

"So what are we going to do, they obviously messed something up since things haven't played out they way they were supposed too. I mean we are supposed to be members of SG1, a secret organization."

"Well we haven't finished the video yet; maybe the ship is operational now."

"Yeah but then why didn't they leave?"

"Good question, well I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out if it's not already fixed. Than I say we take her out of here and go find this Daniel. I mean once the government finds that other tape with all of us on it, they will listen to us. Heck they might have already found it, along with this Stargate contraption."

"Isn't that amazing too? That there is a device that can take us to other planets?"

Jack had to admit that was pretty neat.

Finally they came out into a clearing and the site before them stopped them in their tracks once again.

"Oh my goodness it's beautiful." Sam gushed.

Jack thought that this was an understatement. If they had thought their other little waterfall had been nice, well let's just say this little piece of paradise was the mother of all paradises. This water fall was a lot wider and sort of tiered so that you could walk along the different levels of it if you really wanted. It landed in a little alcove that emptied into a tiny flowing river. There was a far larger variety of flowers growing alongside and around the falls. Than the little home they had constructed was a masterpiece as well. They obviously had had some time to build it up. It was built alongside the falls and up into the trees so there looked to be several levels to it. Sam had already run off to look inside. Jack quickly followed. They could see that the flora had overgrown around the shelter but it wasn't going to be hard to clean out. The main level was a simple kitchen area and dining area complete with handmade table and chairs. Then there was a ladder off to the side that led through a hole in the ceiling. They climbed and found they were out on a sort of little balcony on the roof. There wasn't as much tree coverage directly overhead. Jack could imagine they must have lain out there to look at the stars. Sam had kept climbing to another platform above, which was nestled between several large tree trunks.

"Oh Jack come see!"

Jack quickly climbed and saw what had made Sam so animated. This was obviously the sleeping quarters. They had obviously managed to take linens and cushions with them from Egypt. They had constructed a canopy bed that still had sheer curtains draped over the posts encasing the bed giving it a very exotic look. Sam walked over to a little dresser and looked inside the drawers. There were remnants of what must have been clothing and other paraphernalia they must have had in their packs. She picked up a photo frame; she noticed she and Jack were in it with two other men, she figured this must have been their team. She ran her fingers over the dust covered items delicately; what looked like a board game that she imagined to be Egyptian, whittled wood carvings, a hand gun. She smiled to herself and pictured that Jack must have made the little carvings during periods of boredom.

Jack pulled her out of her reverie and said, "Let's check out the rest of the place."

So they descended and went out the back door of the home to find the remains of a little garden. Sam walked over to the dilapidated fence and looked out into the field to try and gather her thoughts. It was all so overwhelming. Jack decided to let her be alone with her thoughts for a bit when she all of a sudden took off at a run. He quickly followed.

She stopped and fell to her knees. Jack was about to ask what the matter was when he realized the pile of stones and others that outlined a rectangle. It was obviously a marker for a grave. Sam again took off at a run back towards the cave and before he chased after he noticed something glinting in the grass next to the grave. He bent down to see what it was and picked up a rusted chain, with a pair of dog tags and a simple golden ring.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

As Jack reached the cave entrance a light rain had started to fall, dampening his skin and clothing as he began his descent into the cave on the rickety ladder. He made a quick mental note that he should probably construct a sounder one later. He tiptoed to the opening of the ship and found Sam madly trying to fast forward the video tape.

"Sam, honey? What are you doing?"

"I have to see where it ends!" Her voice ending with a shrill, she was obviously quite distressed.

So Jack did the only thing he could think of and sat down beside her to watch as well.

Sam finally reached the end of the tape and pressed play. The image before him was of the other Sam apparently stricken with grief.

* I'm not sure how to say this but incase anyone ever finds this I feel the need to explain what has happened. Yesterday Colonel Jack O'Neill was bitten by an unknown, indigenous snake. It was obviously poisonous as he immediately began to react. He did not make it through the night. This will be the final entry to this video diary.*

The screen had gone blank as the Major's voice had begun to crack. He heard a sniffle beside him and looked over to see the tears streaming down his Sam's face. Jack just pulled her into his lap and wrapped his strong arms around her.

"Oh God, Jack, you don't think she…"

Jack knew that the answer to Sam's unfinished thought was probably true. He knew that if it had been the other way around he would not have been able to carry on without her. This thought scared him a little, he had only known her a week but his overwhelming love for her was no less true. Maybe it was the fact that they had loved each other in another timeline and he had witnessed the whole thing on that video tape but he was pretty sure he would have felt the same none the less. He pulled the dog tags that read, 'Major Samantha Carter' from his pocket and placed them in Sam's hand in silent answer to her question.

She looked down at them to only bring out another torrent of sobs as she turned her head and buried it in Jacks shirt. He knew they couldn't be positive but unless she had left her dog tags behind and went somewhere else she had probably ended it there. He began to rub small circles across her back in order to calm her down, whispering,

"Shh… it's ok."

At this she released the front of his shirt and looked up at him, her face distraught,

"How can you say that? That woman was magnificent! I will never be as strong and brave as her. They were heroes for goodness sake! To think their legacy ended here. I am a poor substitute for her, this isn't right!"

"Sam you are her. I don't know if you've noticed but you've been through a lot this past week and handled it all very bravely. I think you are a very strong, intelligent woman."

Sam looked him in the eye, she had thought she couldn't love him even more than she already did but he had just proved her wrong again. In response she just brought her lips to his to lock in what was supposed to be a delicate kiss but it quickly turned much more exploratory. Sam's hands running through Jack's silvering hair and his hands roaming over the expanse of her tank top covered back. After a few minutes they broke a part breathless and Jack began to lower her to the ships floor. He lay down beside her with his head resting on his hand propped up with his elbow. He just stared down into her face, seeing in her eyes sadness mixed with passion. He bent his head forward and inhaled the scent of her skin as her hair tickled his nose. He moved forward more and nuzzled the side of her cheek and down into her neck before speaking softly,

"At least out of all of this I still get you and that's all that matters to me."

He raised his head again over hers so that they were nose to nose. She still had a few tears trailing down her cheeks from earlier so he brought his lips to each one and kissed them away.

His gentleness and concern almost made a fresh batch of tears start to flow but Sam was able to stem them by distracting herself. She brought her hands up and clasped his head bringing him back to her lips. She could taste the salt from her tears as she traced down the back of his neck with her hands and brought them to his collar. She began to tug on his shirt so Jack pulled her up to a sitting position their lips never breaking their embrace as he removed his shirt followed by hers before lowering her back down. He then began to trail kisses down her chest and stomach his hands aiding in his homage to her glorious body. Once he reached her cut-off skirt he unfastened it and made light work of both of their bottoms. By this time it was a tropical downpour outside. The rain could be heard from the cave entrance falling amongst the tall grasses and lush foliage as well as pouring down onto the ships roof creating a constant drumming sound, running down its sides the rivulets streaming down the sand into the cave's lake. The combined sounds creating a natural symphony. They lay entwined, skin moist from the humid air, working towards completion their voices echoing; the final instrument to complete the orchestra.

~*~

Sam laid contentedly in Jack's embrace, her head on his chest and her fingers playing with the curls on his chest. The rain was no longer beating down as hard; the sound of the jungle could be heard coming back to life as creatures left their hiding places.

"Sam?"

"Mm hmm."

"Do you think if you watched all of the Major's logs you could learn enough to fix this thing?"

"I don't know, why? You don't want me to just find a way to deactivate the cloak so that we can be found?"

"If it comes to that maybe, otherwise I think we have a mission to complete."

"You mean it Jack? You want to go back and try to fix what's gone wrong."

She had raised her head to look at him in wonderment.

"Yeah I think it's worth a shot."

"What about us? Our lives here? You know it will end"

"I don't know about you but I don't have much to go back to, I think all I need is right in front of me."

Sam smiled and bent down to place a chaste kiss to his lips. A fleeting image of seeing Rodney again, him pinching her butt and saying something along the lines of 'I've missed you sweetcheeks' briefly played before her eyes before it was pushed from her mind never to be thought of again.

"I couldn't agree with you more." She said as she treated him to one of her brilliant smiles.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Jack lay quietly, drawing lazy, invisible doodles up and down a dozing Sam's arm when he noticed the change in weather. The loud sound of rain pelting down on the ships roof had dissipated into a light drumming until it couldn't be heard at all. Light slowly streaming in at the entrance as the clouds cleared away.

"Sam" he whispered as he gently shook her. "Sam, wake up," he watched as her eyes opened slowly, fuzzy from sleep, "If I lay any longer like this, I'm going to have permanent marks on my butt from the grated floor!"

She smiled and began to untangle herself replying with a small, "Sorry," before stretching her arms with a yawn.

"That was quite the storm we had."

"I guess we should head out and see about setting up house in our new camp."

"Sure, sounds like a plan." Sam stood and held out her hand to help Jack up and they exited the ship together.

"Wow!" Sam exclaimed. The little lake in the cavern had risen so that the shore was only a few feet away from the ships edge.

"That was a lot of water."

"It's amazing how the storm cleared so quickly." As she peered up into the brilliant, blue sky; sun rays warming her skin.

"Come on Sam," Jack beckoned after he had edged along the side of the ship to reach the foot of the rope ladder.

"Be careful, it's probably going to be slippery."

Jack watched with some apprehension as she made her way up but also realized she was quite agile and more than capable of making the climb. Before he knew it she was at the top staring down at him, smiling her gorgeous smile.

"You can do it Fly boy"

"You bet I can," he replied.

He grabbed onto the first rung and began to pull himself to the next when all of a sudden he felt himself falling backwards. Not because he had slipped but because the ladder had fallen down. It no longer had anything to attach to; in fact an entire cave wall had vanished, Sam along with it.

'Damn it', Jack muttered to himself, "Sam! Sam can you hear me?" when he didn't get a reply he swore some more under his breath before looking around with some desperation for his best exit. The large opening in the ground that had served as an entrance into the cavern was situated on a hill. He guessed that after the heavy rainfall, the ground on the one side had become unstable and caused a landslide. A good portion of the cave wall had been washed away; he now could pretty much just walk out. The only problem now was going to be walking on this very slippery mud.

He began his descent as quickly as possible, loosing his footing a few times keeping a keen eye out for Sam amongst the debris. It didn't take long for him to spot the only recognizable thing on a very grimy Sam. Her tuft of blond hair was sticking out in a mess of mud, branches and limbs.

"Sam!" his anxiety raised a notch at her unresponsive form and began to move quicker. Jack found himself tumbling head over heal as he slipped, sliding a few yards before coming to a mud-spattered stop beside Sam. He gave her the once over and determined the only physical injury he could see was a cut across the forehead, leaking blood slowly. From what he could tell it looked superficial but he bent over anyway for a closer look as he gently shook her shoulders.

"Sam, wake up…Sam, open your eyes." He heard a soft groan escape her lips before her eyes fluttered open. It took her a moment to focus her eyes on him and when she did, she whispered, "Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

Immediate relief flooded over Jack at her words, she was well enough to joke.

"Me? You should take a look at yourself honey." She looked down at herself and chuckled, "well I suppose so."

They really were quite the pair, Sam's eyes shone bluer than usual against the contrast of the dark mud that covered her face, along with every other inch of her. He figured he looked similar.

"Sam, in all seriousness now, do you hurt anywhere? That was quite a ways you traveled."

"Hmm, no I don't think anything serious, no broken bones, my injured ankle is throbbing even more now and I have a headache."

"Yeah it looks like you took a hit to the head, you have a small cut, here let me check your pupils. I hope you don't have a concussion."

He brought his hands to the side of her face, wiping some of the mud away before settling with his thumbs slightly pulling down on her cheeks right below her eyes. He took a moment to check them over before realizing how intensely Sam was staring into his own eyes. In moments they were locked in a fervent kiss. Again a shock at the magnitude of the feeling washing over him, relief and love so intense he knew he had never felt before. He broke the kiss and pulled her tightly against him, burying his head in the side of her neck, rocking them slightly. "I'm so glad you are ok."

"Me too."

"What do ya say we go get cleaned up."

"I'd say I like that very much."

With that Jack rose and helped Sam up hearing her wince, he looked down and saw that her ankle was more swollen than before. Without hesitation Jack swept her up in his arms before the climb back to the ship. Sam protested slightly with an indignant look on her face.

"Jack, I can walk."

"No, I'm not going to take any chances, besides this feels kinda nice." He grinned.

Mockingly Sam said, "Oh my knight in shining armor!" She snorted slightly with her giggle.

The ascent was slow going with the extra weight Jack had to carry and the careful placement of his steps so as not to send both careening back down the hill. Eventually they made it to the ship and Jack gently lowered Sam to the metal floor before going to search the different compartments of the ship. He found a different drawer like the one where the camera had been found except this one held some emergency supplies. He grabbed the first aid kit and a pile of blankets and placed them in Sam's arms. She looked up at him questioningly as he began to lift her once more.

"I thought we were going to get cleaned up?"

"We are, you'll see."

He carried her back out into the daylight and up beyond the once-cavern, several yards to the alternates home and water fall. It didn't take Sam long to figure out Jack's plan as he climbed the edge of the waterfall up onto one of the tiers where the water ran over a giant rock face than over a level surface before it dropped over the edge into the stream below.

"You can put me down now."

Jack obliged and watched as Sam waded into the mid-calf high water. She sat down the feeling of the cool water washing over her mud hardened skin marvelous.

"Jack this feels soooo good."

He chuckled as he followed her actions and came to sit next to her. Sam began removing her clothing and threw them up on shore so that she could begin scrubbing at her skin. Jack did the same as he watched her lay back in the water to wash out her hair, laughing at the sensation. Jack washed quickly knowing that he wasn't going to last long watching a naked Sam play in the water before he had to do some playing of his own. So he went and sat at the edge and began to scrub their clothing, rung them out and hung them nearby. He returned and beckoned for Sam to come join him at the edge. She mock pouted before crawling over beside him.

"Sorry Sam I just want to take care of this cut before moving on to any other activities." He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively which she returned with a punch in the shoulder. It didn't take long for him to use what minimal supplies were left to clean the wound and bandage it up. He placed a tender kiss over it before meeting Sam's intense gaze.

"I think I'm ready for some 'other activities' now," she spoke softly. Jack just nodded his reply in silence as he wrapped her in the blankets. The sun was beginning to set a pink glow settling over them. He picked her up in his arms lovingly and they made their way quietly up into their new nest in the trees.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Saammmm," Jack quietly whined from his perch on their bed. "Can't that wait until tomorrow?"

With an exasperated sigh Samantha turned from the make shift desk in their bedroom to look at Jack. She was about to tell him off but then seeing him laying on their bed she couldn't quite resist the urge to crawl in next to him. "I was almost done, but I suppose the battery was going to die soon anyway." She snapped the lap top shut and made her way over to Jack's waiting arms. He quickly enveloped her in a hug as they lay down together. They both lay in comfortable silence, staring up at the ceiling lost in their own thoughts before either spoke. Sam was still thinking about the simulations she had been running on the laptop which they had found in yet another of the ships compartments. It had come in quite handy, it had allowed her to leave the ship to sometimes work from their new home. It had been a month since they had decided they were going to try and fix the timeline. In that time, Samantha had reviewed her alternate's recordings to learn everything she possibly could about the ships technology as well as the amazing power source they had dubbed a ZPM. It was amazing that this ZPM had been running for over thousands of years to keep the cloak intact and the power supply was barely depleted, it was the find of the century. She also used it to power up the different tools she had found in the ship including the video camera and laptop. She also enjoyed watching the tapes because it gave her an inside view to their alternates lives. She couldn't help but chuckle at the other Jack's antics. They seemed so at ease with each other. She supposed that came of working so closely together for what? The other Sam had said 8 years. She was somewhat jealous of the other two's rapport but was not jealous of the fact that they weren't able to "be" together during all that time. Something to do with military regulations. She wistfully thought about how they had at least that small amount of time together here on this island. She looked toward her Jack lovingly, and reached a hand out to stroke his chest. At least she had him now.

While Sam had been working on the ship repairs, Jack had set about making their living situation comfortable. He did an initial cleanup of their new home, including throwing out all the musty, threadbare, sheets, and clothing, salvaging what he could and replacing it with the perfectly preserved ones he had found in the ship. He made repairs to the roof and cleaned out any debris left from previous storms. Then his days mainly consisted of exploring the island, catching their dinner, making any other improvements he could as well as helping Sam with anything she needed. He loved watching her work with such passion however she almost seemed obsessed with their new mission. It led him to wonder what their other selves were like, and how could they be any better then what 'they' were, he loved his Sam and wouldn't want her any other way. His eyes wandered to the picture that Samantha had placed on their night table of the originals team, SG-1 they were called.

Samantha having broken out of her musings of the past month turned her head once again to stare up at Jack to notice he was staring with a pensive look on his face towards the picture she had found in the alternates dresser. She rolled onto her stomach and placed her head down on her arm that was still on his chest, so she could get a better look at the picture too. The dog tags around her neck clinking together as she moved snapped Jack out of his reverie. He turned to stare at the chain around her neck and followed it down until it disappeared under the material of her t-shirt. She had worn them since the day he had found them at the gravesite. He knew it was another reminder for her obsession to fix the timeline.

"A penny for them?" she asked, as he reached over to pull the tags from inside her shirt and absently began to finger them.

"I was just thinking about them," nodding his head towards the picture. "What they are like, how are they different and the same. You know"

"Yeah I often think the same, and about what Daniel and Teal'c must be like, from their descriptions on the tape they were really good friends of ours, more then that I think they were our family, now they just look like strangers."

"I'm also concerned about you." He said as he reached up and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear before caressing her cheek. He noticed how her eyes clouded over with a troubled look.

"What do you mean? I'm fine"

"I know but you seem so crazily devoted to this and I wonder if you've ever stopped to think about whether or not this is right? How do we know their timeline is any more right than ours? It seems like you think she is better and the correct version of yourself and I want you to know that's not true. I love you the way you are."

"Jack," she smiled warmly, "I love you too." I'm always going to be me, or you'll always know this version of me, at least I hope, we will always stay together. I've looked at this from a bigger perspective, it isn't about us. This timeline we are in now, from what I know, we haven't found a Stargate. It sounds like that was crucial in this battle with the Go'aulds or whatever they were called. So we are sitting ducks. We need to change the timeline back so that 'we' can save Earth."

Jack chuckled and said, "I like the way you think, when you put it that way it makes more sense. Speaking of always being together," Jack paused, as his fingers began to run over the gold ring attached to the chain. "I was wondering if, well, once we got to Egypt, we could find that man, that you know…"

Sam smirked and leaned in closer to Jacks face, "What are you trying to say Jack?"

She could tell by the way his hand was fidgeting with the dog tags he was nervous and she thought it was adorable, she had a pretty good idea what was coming. "Oh heck! I'm wondering if you will marry me! When we get to Egypt I want us to be married like the alternates were" He stared at her questioningly his heart beating heavily in his chest. "Of course Jack! Of course I will marry you." She placed a kiss to his lips, before laying back down with her head on his chest. She recalled the description on the tape that the other Sam had told of their marriage in Egypt. It had sounded absolutely beautiful. After a few moments of dreamily picturing married life with Jack, Samantha remembered that she was going to give Jack her latest update on the ship.

"So I'm pretty sure I can have it flying and time travel ready in a week's time."

"Hmmm" Jack mumbled as he slowly ran his hand up and down under her shirt, over the smooth skin of her back. "What?"

"The ship Jack! I can have it ready in a week."

"Oh right, the ship." He said, clearly distracted.

"So do you think we need to come up with any other preparations? A plan maybe"

"I'm not really sure what's beyond going back in time to ancient Egypt. I'm hoping this Daniel will still be there and we will be able to help him out."

"Well that's not much of a plan."

"I know and I don't like it any more then you do, but we don't have much to go with here, we have no weapons or intel other then this ship. If you are having second thoughts we can rethink this."

"No, no, I still want to do this it just seems so much more real now that it's so close."

"I know what you mean, I'm pretty sure we are just going to have to go back and tell them that a Stargate was never found in Giza and hopefully this Daniel will know what that means."

"Are you going to miss this place?"

Jack stopped the movements of his hand and brought both up to Sam's face, "Are you kidding me, this has been the best time of my life, yeah I'm going to miss it."

"Do you think we could come back then?" Sam said in a small voice, hoping he would say yes since she too had been the happiest she'd ever been.

"Yeah sure you betcha! I don't see why we couldn't after we fix things, besides this seems like a good hiding spot for this ZPM thing a ma gig." With that Jack rolled on top of Samantha and began kissing her passionately and no more words were spoken again that night.

~*~

The week had flown quickly past and now both Samantha and Jack sat in the cockpit of the 'puddle jumper' ready for takeoff.

"Now remember, think 5000 years ago." Sam said closing her eyes tightly together in mock imitation. She then glanced over at Jack after she had finished a preliminary check of the ship systems. She noticed that he merely nodded with a grimace.

"Hey," she said, placing her hand over his on the console. "What is it?"

"Sorry, completely the wrong time but I was just thinking about what we talked about the other night, about coming back here. You know I'd love to have kids someday, I can't believe I'm thinking this before even knowing if you want any, but if we come back here what sort of life will they have?"

"Uhhh…" Sam stammered, "Wow, not what I was expecting."

"Just forget I said anything."

"No, no, Jack, honestly I hadn't thought about it before, I didn't think I'd make a great parent, but after knowing you I definitely want children with you. How about we get this mission finished first and we'll work out the rest later."

She gave him a quick peck on the lips and he smiled, "Yes Maham," giving a fake salute, "thank you though, I feel better now."

He waved his hand over the console, and she watched in awe tinged with a bit of envy as multiple lights began blinking.

"Alright now remember, 5000 years ago"

"Gotcha" and with that Jack placed his hands down on the main control and they felt a slight shift that made Sam's stomach do flip flops. They both looked out the window, curious to see if anything looked different. At first glance everything seemed the same; the window portrayed the same lush foliage of their current island home.

"It looks the same" Jack stated the obvious.

"I guess that is to be expected, this island has probably always been uninhabited, our alternates said they found no one when they arrived here. I guess we won't know if we are in the past until we fly out to Egypt."

"Maybe we should take a look around here first."

Something in their view had caught Samantha's attention and she said, "I think that would be a very good idea."

Having followed Sam's line of site, Jack also noticed the orangey tinge to the sky and asked, "What is it?"

"I don't know." She replied with some trepidation in her voice

Jack stood and grabbed their only weapons, the knife and hand gun they had found amongst the alternates things. He handed the gun to Sam.

"Whoa, I've never used one of these before. I prefer the use of explosives on a much larger scale."

Exasperated, Jack said, "Humor me will ya, it will probably be easier for you to use then a knife, am I right?

"Yeah you are right, come on lets go."

As they stepped outside, the off coloring of the sky became more apparent. The sky was completely overcast and was glowing with several different hues of oranges and reds as if something was burning.

"I wonder if this island is showing signs of volcanic activity or maybe there is an island nearby that is." Sam analyzed out loud.

"Something is definitely different. Look at the trees."

As Sam looked around she noticed that the plant growth was a lot less dense then from where they left.

"Maybe it took those thousands of years for everything to grow in."

Jack bent down closer to some tree stumps on the ground, "it hasn't yet to grow, it already has and has been cut down."

As Sam looked around she noted that Jack was indeed correct. The ground also showed signs of having been travelled regularly.

"Jack I don't think we are alone any longer."

"Neither do I." He replied and he pointed to a thin line of smoke rising out of the trees a few kilometers away, where he knew several caves were located.

"Alright, follow my lead, try and be as quiet as possible, I'd rather check out the locals first before they know about us."

Sam nodded her understanding and made to follow him into the trees.

They walked for about half an hour before Jack made Samantha duck behind some bushes just outside the clearing where the fire was. What they saw shocked both of them. From what they could see there were around 30 people huddled around campfires, preparing what must be dinner, some coming and going from the caves. But what surprised them was that they were speaking English. They waited until a young woman, probably in her early twenties came down to the stream that ran by their hiding place to fetch some water. Jack thought this would be a perfect opportunity to ask some questions. As the woman bent down to fill her pail with water, Jack stepped up behind her and said, "Hello there, what you doing?"

The woman, startled, quickly stood and turned. "Geez, so not funny, don't scare me like that."

Not exactly the reaction Jack was expecting, he was expecting her to still be nervous after her initial shock but now she seemed perfectly at ease. He took a moment to study her more closely; she had long, dirty blond hair that looked like it hadn't seen a brush in days. Her clothes were nothing more than rags. This however did nothing to diminish her very striking features.

The woman smiled, "What? What are you looking at?" Her demeanor quickly changed to shock, the bucket fell from her hands as her mouth fell open and her sparkling blue eyes opened wide. Jack had felt Sam come up behind him and assumed this had caused her reaction.

"I knew you would come, many didn't believe it, but I knew." Her voice fell off into a whisper.

Both dumbstruck, having no idea what that could mean, Jack and Sam just turned to stare at each other before questioningly turning their eyes back to the woman.

I don't own anything... thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Hello, I just wanted to thank those for reading and reviewing, this is probably a stupid question but I can't remember how to reply to reviews!? I want to be able to respond! Please keep reviewing it keeps me motivated!

Chapter 12

"I can't believe I didn't notice earlier that you looked so different." The woman said towards Jack's direction. With that she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Samantha in a tight squeeze. "I've missed you so much."

Samantha not comfortable in these sorts of situations, awkwardly patted the woman on the back while giving Jack a sheepish look. The woman instantly noticed the somewhat cold reaction and said, "You really aren't the same are you."

"What the heck is going on? Who are you?" Jack was so confused his head was starting to hurt, why was this woman acting so strangely? Why were these people here? What year was it? These were just a few of the questions floating around in his head. Not to mention he strangely felt like there was something familiar about the woman but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"My name is Grace. You had better come with me."

"Hello Grace, I'm Sama..."

"I know, you're Sam and that is Jack." She said lifting a finger to each of them in turn.

This again left the two speechless so with little other choice they followed the woman into the campsite. Many stopped what they were doing to simply stare, a few gasps were heard. Sam whispered out of the side of her mouth, "This is a little awkward."

"Ya think?" Jack retorted, eyebrows raised.

They stopped beside a cave and Grace motioned them to sit by the fire that crackled there.

"Would you like something to eat?" she asked as she handed them bowls.

"I'd actually like some questions answered first."

"You never change do you Jack?" came a fractured voice of an elderly man as he shuffled his way out of the cave. His clothes were just as ragged as Grace's; he was bald and wore a broken set of glasses. Grace stood to ease the man into a sitting position so that he could join them around the fire. She also handed him a bowl with a warm, stew-like mixture.

"And you are?" came Jack's characteristically sardonic question.

"What? You don't recognize me? That hurts Jack. What about Sam?" He turned to look Sam in the eye. She stared intently for a moment and then asked,

"Are, are you Daniel?"

"The one and only." He finished with a smile and a wheezing cough. "What's the matter with you two?"

"The hair," Jack said gesturing with his hand a circling motion around his own head, "You look different without the hair."

"Forgive him," Sam said, jabbing Jack in the ribs with her elbow. A small 'ouch' escaped from his lips as he rubbed the new sore spot. "You might find this hard to believe but we are from an alternate timeline then yours. We've never actually met our version of you. I only recognized you from a photo."

"Actually not so hard to believe, I've seen quite a lot of unimaginable things in my lifetime."

"Right if you've led any kind of life like the others from the tape then I should have known."

"Others? Tape?" Daniels eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"You see, we kind of stumbled upon this tape, while being stranded on this island. It was of us, well an alternate version of us, we found it in this ship and it was explained to us that it was capable of time travel. So we thought we would try and set things straight by restoring the true timeline."

Jack scratching his head said, "Well how are we going to know if that's true? What year is it by the way?"

"2035" Grace interjected.

"Pheewww." Jack let out a long, low whistle, "well that explains the lack of hair." He once again turned to the woman and had the feeling that she looked very familiar.

"And who are you in relation to all of this?" he asked sweeping his arm out in the general direction of everything around him.

She stared hard at him for a moment before attempting to begin. But then Jack had it, there was no mistaking the eyes any longer, he knew where he had seen them before.

"I'm…"

"You're Sam's daughter," he interrupted.

"Well yes, and…"

Jack's heart momentarily stopped, agitated by the idea of Sam with another man.

"And yours" she giggled at the looks passing over his face.

He looked over at Sam flabbergasted. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, run away, or embrace the young woman before him. He had a daughter. That beautiful woman was his and Sam's offspring. An overwhelming feeling of pride and love washed over him. He pulled Sam close in that moment curious to know what she felt about the whole thing, but there wasn't time now.

"Well I guess you are technically our alternate's daughter." Sam added.

'Of course,' Jack thought to himself, always about the technicalities.

"So back to whether or not this is the correct timeline or simply another version."

"Well that's going to be hard to tell, since all we know of the original is what we heard on that tape."

"Which was?" Daniel asked.

"Well you were part of a program that involved the use of the Stargate for about 8 years. You were fighting a war against the Go'aulds."

"Hmmm…"Daniel said, "that sounds like ours but you are right that is pretty vague."

"From what I can tell, the pivotal detail in our reality is that the Stargate was never found." Sam speculated

"So then something must have gone wrong in Ancient Egypt."

"All we know is that you went back in time to retrieve a ZPM, but got stranded. That Jack and Sam fled with the ZPM after being scheduled for execution."

"See we found a video recording at a site near Giza, explaining that you took part in another uprising and then left strict instructions for Jack, with coordinates on where to find a ZPM."

"So that means that whatever happens here and now, we know that somehow Jack and I still manage to go back and fix things." Sam said excitedly

"Whoa, what?" Jack said shaking his head.

"Sort of like a self-fulfilling prophecy." Grace added.

"But wait," Jack said, holding up his hands to stop the flow of conversation. "You said earlier that we were coming, how did you know that?"

"In another video message that was left to …" Grace was cut off by another familiar voice; a shadow coming out of the trees.

"To me."


End file.
